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Record of Proceedings

Erie City Council Caucus Summary - September 25, 2026

City Council — Friday, September 25, 2026
BodyErie, Pennsylvania
SessionCity Council
DateFriday, September 25, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 42:11

Original source
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0:05

So those demographics will probably need a targeted focus campaigns to uh sway some of their fears.

0:20

Thank you.

0:21

Thank you.

0:23

Do we um and I know it's this is early on, and we're just now kind of looking at it.

0:26

Are do we have a um I guess like the thought process around like how are we going to start the engagement process or a program of mind or committees that's forming?

0:35

Yeah, so I mean I think the intent is to go back to the door-to-door model.

0:39

I mean, you know, I think you all remember um the kind of door-to-door work that was done in 20, I think it was the summer of 2018, perhaps.

0:48

Um I think that's the model that we're going back to.

0:51

See, to your point, Councilor Horton, we cannot show up for the census and just expect people to talk to us and give us all this information.

0:58

So the intent is to train and create teams that will be deployed throughout the city.

1:02

We have lots of outreach information we can give them, build those trust, build those relationships as we're providing them with services and connecting so that when we do come back for the census, they know us and they're ready to answer the question.

1:14

So it's about building the team now.

1:16

That's the intent.

1:16

Okay.

1:17

Wonderful.

1:18

Uh just to kind of um echo a little bit of what my colleagues have shared too, knowing with especially within marginalized and oppressed communities that it there is a strong fear around being honest, and there's also an erasure of a lot of the identities around being counted.

1:33

Uh so I think just the education with that component too.

1:36

Um it also might spark some some questions around how are we going to capture data that this census isn't intentionally not capturing.

1:43

For example, trans people are not captured on the on the data, but we know they exist, because I'm I mean I'm here.

1:48

Um, but how do we as a city make sure that we're still capturing those?

1:53

The information about those and thank you.

1:57

I guess I should know that our team is going to Philadelphia for training on this.

2:00

So this isn't us making this up as we go.

2:02

That's why we got the grant.

2:04

So we have funding to send them and have them trained with best practice here.

2:08

Wonderful.

2:08

Thank you.

2:09

Uh I I am excited to see how how early we're starting with that too.

2:13

Uh because this is this is gonna take a long on-ramp to building up.

2:18

Um questions as we look at uh the old the business uh old business item.

2:29

This is uh where we had the public hearing on last time, and I wanted to just make a note that we have members of the administration here uh to answer any questions.

2:38

If we had any follow-up questions, anything we wanted to flush out, they will not be present during the the meeting.

2:42

So if we had any questions we wanted to ask about um us voting on this and approving it, now would be the time as we have the staff here who've been working on it.

2:56

I don't want to speak for everyone on council, but it was my understanding that with the conditions that were laid out that council felt comfortable moving forward with this one.

3:09

Yes, please.

3:11

So when I was drafting this, I used you know the models from the Scots Hotel in the market house uh projects and then incorporated what was already kind of in those so that we're consistent with our waterfront conditional use approvals and incorporated what was just you know discussed by public comment and by our witnesses.

3:30

So really the goal, so there was so to use living landscape material which would include a regionally native planting materials where they could.

3:38

That was the wording we've used before.

3:40

One was to incorporate uh reasonable uh bird or wildlife sensitive measures to protect you know nature.

3:48

Uh next was there's some testimony about you know, it was unknown what wildlife raccoons deer lived in that area.

3:56

So they were to they would be they should cons they would consult a wildlife expert to either you know capture or remove whatever animals they can.

4:06

Um part of their presentation was they had exterior lighting along the driveway.

4:12

Um so but that was also something we incorporated in other projects.

4:14

So I incorporated our same language further.

4:18

There was a talk about how there's there is a fence, but it needs to replace, it needs updated.

4:22

Um so there's a requirement that the fence should be in good condition, needs to be maintained, and the cost of that is on them.

4:33

And then further that um they have they are they were adjusting their initial plan, they were trying to get kind of get some square footage on top of one of the bluffs.

4:47

Um they agreed to pull that back.

4:49

So what I put in here was that they need to be able to actively it's part of their business practices to preserve the bluff because that's a requirement of the zoning code, and also they're they're not to be you know doing work stuff or whatever on the bluffs.

5:01

And then also to if they needed any signs, uh, that's what section 333 of the zoning code is for, so the zoning hearing board.

5:07

They didn't mention anything about signs, but in case it pops up, it's covered.

5:11

And then also just to comply with all of the other, you know, federal, state, and local laws.

5:15

So like this is the first step in this process.

5:17

Next, they would then submit different plans to uh the planning department for you know under Saldo to be to go forward the next several months.

5:26

Um so that's kind of the sh the high-level summary.

5:30

Council Wayne.

5:31

What's that?

5:32

I think that was a 25-foot offset from the bluff or something like that.

5:37

Uh I I'm very I'm pleased to really support this project.

5:42

They were responsive.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Works████████████████████████████████████36%
Procedural██████████████████████22%
Public Safety█████████████13%
Waterfront Development████████8%
Community Engagement█████5%
Landlord and Rental█████5%
Environmental Protection█████5%
Public Engagement██2%
Wildlife Management██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Erie City Council Caucus Summary - September 25, 2026

The Erie City Council held a caucus on September 25, 2026, to discuss several agenda items including census outreach, a conditional use approval for the Nine Ships project, repository sales, storm recovery funding, and the pension minimum municipal obligation (MMO). No public comments were heard during this session.

Discussion Items

  • Census Outreach: Council discussed a door-to-door engagement model to build trust in marginalized communities, with a team set to receive training in Philadelphia. Councilor Horton noted the need for targeted campaigns and addressing fears around being counted, including concerns about data gaps for transgender residents.
  • Old Business – Conditional Use Approval (Nine Ships Project): Council reviewed conditions for the project on the East Side, including living landscape materials, wildlife mitigation, lighting standards, fence maintenance, bluff preservation, and sign compliance. Councilor Wayne expressed strong support, calling it a win for the East Side. A resident who initially raised concerns submitted a letter of support after conditions were addressed.
  • New Business – Repository Sales: Several parcels (Items 2–8) proposed for sale to Mr. Ferrari were discussed. Councilor Flores noted missing information about possible occupancy on one property. Councilors expressed general opposition to group sales at $250 per parcel, consistent with past county votes. The items were pulled and tabled pending further investigation; only Item 1 (a separate entity) remained on the agenda.
  • Storm Recovery Update: Mayor Devlin delivered an extensive briefing on the severe storm (described as a 100-year event) that struck two weeks prior. Key statistics: 152 streets blocked, 207 hazardous trees reported, 923 resident calls, 800–1,000 trees impacted (10% of the city’s tree canopy), 95% of downed trees were in good health, 15,500 cubic yards of debris collected so far, 121 fire calls in 12 hours (vs. normal 10–15), and three parks heavily impacted (Frontier, Columbus, Gridley). The mayor outlined recovery phases (safety, debris removal, resident assistance, park reopening, replanting, and state reimbursement). Financial requests included transferring $3 million from the general fund fund balance and $1 million from the refuse fund fund balance into a new emergency management services account, plus approval of two contracts (a grinder rental and trucking) to process debris. PEMA reimbursement is expected. A Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) was set up at the Salvation Army.
  • Pension MMO: The controller presented the 2027 MMO of $26,329,948 (city portion: $26,948; water authority portion: $329,357), required for Act 205 compliance. It can be revised later, and a meeting with PFM is scheduled for the following week.

Key Outcomes

  • Items 2 through 8 under New Business (repository sales) were pulled from the agenda and tabled until more information on occupancy is available.
  • Council indicated support for the storm-related funding measures: transfer of $3 million (general fund) and $1 million (refuse fund) to emergency management, and the two contracts for a grinder and trucking services. These will be considered for a second reading (emergency) at the public meeting.
  • The MMO was formally presented and received; no vote was taken. Further discussion will occur with PFM next week.
  • Council publicly thanked city employees and community partners for their response to the storm.

Meeting Transcript

So those demographics will probably need a targeted focus campaigns to uh sway some of their fears. Thank you. Thank you. Do we um and I know it's this is early on, and we're just now kind of looking at it. Are do we have a um I guess like the thought process around like how are we going to start the engagement process or a program of mind or committees that's forming? Yeah, so I mean I think the intent is to go back to the door-to-door model. I mean, you know, I think you all remember um the kind of door-to-door work that was done in 20, I think it was the summer of 2018, perhaps. Um I think that's the model that we're going back to. See, to your point, Councilor Horton, we cannot show up for the census and just expect people to talk to us and give us all this information. So the intent is to train and create teams that will be deployed throughout the city. We have lots of outreach information we can give them, build those trust, build those relationships as we're providing them with services and connecting so that when we do come back for the census, they know us and they're ready to answer the question. So it's about building the team now. That's the intent. Okay. Wonderful. Uh just to kind of um echo a little bit of what my colleagues have shared too, knowing with especially within marginalized and oppressed communities that it there is a strong fear around being honest, and there's also an erasure of a lot of the identities around being counted. Uh so I think just the education with that component too. Um it also might spark some some questions around how are we going to capture data that this census isn't intentionally not capturing. For example, trans people are not captured on the on the data, but we know they exist, because I'm I mean I'm here. Um, but how do we as a city make sure that we're still capturing those? The information about those and thank you. I guess I should know that our team is going to Philadelphia for training on this. So this isn't us making this up as we go. That's why we got the grant. So we have funding to send them and have them trained with best practice here. Wonderful. Thank you. Uh I I am excited to see how how early we're starting with that too. Uh because this is this is gonna take a long on-ramp to building up. Um questions as we look at uh the old the business uh old business item. This is uh where we had the public hearing on last time, and I wanted to just make a note that we have members of the administration here uh to answer any questions. If we had any follow-up questions, anything we wanted to flush out, they will not be present during the the meeting. So if we had any questions we wanted to ask about um us voting on this and approving it, now would be the time as we have the staff here who've been working on it. I don't want to speak for everyone on council, but it was my understanding that with the conditions that were laid out that council felt comfortable moving forward with this one. Yes, please. So when I was drafting this, I used you know the models from the Scots Hotel in the market house uh projects and then incorporated what was already kind of in those so that we're consistent with our waterfront conditional use approvals and incorporated what was just you know discussed by public comment and by our witnesses. So really the goal, so there was so to use living landscape material which would include a regionally native planting materials where they could. That was the wording we've used before. One was to incorporate uh reasonable uh bird or wildlife sensitive measures to protect you know nature. Uh next was there's some testimony about you know, it was unknown what wildlife raccoons deer lived in that area. So they were to they would be they should cons they would consult a wildlife expert to either you know capture or remove whatever animals they can. Um part of their presentation was they had exterior lighting along the driveway. Um so but that was also something we incorporated in other projects. So I incorporated our same language further. There was a talk about how there's there is a fence, but it needs to replace, it needs updated. Um so there's a requirement that the fence should be in good condition, needs to be maintained, and the cost of that is on them. And then further that um they have they are they were adjusting their initial plan, they were trying to get kind of get some square footage on top of one of the bluffs. Um they agreed to pull that back. So what I put in here was that they need to be able to actively it's part of their business practices to preserve the bluff because that's a requirement of the zoning code, and also they're they're not to be you know doing work stuff or whatever on the bluffs. And then also to if they needed any signs, uh, that's what section 333 of the zoning code is for, so the zoning hearing board.

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